Improvement in kilns for burning bricks



UNITED STATES? -PATni\iT OFFICE.

wriinmn SAMUEL HALL, or New Yemen. Y., Assicxon fro. HEX- RY w.

Y ADAMS.

IMPROVEMENT IN KILNS FOR BURNING BRlCKS, 807C.

SpeeilL-nftion -formiirg part nf Leiters IatentNo. l101.870, dated Aprill?, 1:;(1.

its water-smoke, and advancing the heat progressivelythrough a "long orcontinuous kiln.

The object of my invention is to save fuel and burn'lrieks and otherarticles composed ot' clay more uniformly hard and perfect in color.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a ground plan, as seen bylooking down from the top. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section. Fig. 3 is aerosssection.

. A is the outside wall of the kiln, inelosing ille burning-chamber. Iil 13" B B* Bf B6 I3T are the iire-plaees. C are the lire-doors, one ot'which 'is thrown open. (.f are the doors of the ash-pits, one ot' whichis represented as open. The above let-ters are clearly seen in Fig. 2.Likewise the following are shown in the same ligure: D l) show theash-pits. E E are the grate-bars.

In Fig. l., IWF is the space or eartway between the two opposite sets ofgrate-bars, running through the middle of the kiln. G (lr are the:floors between the grate-bars, which are iiush with the driveway'h F.

, In Fig. 2, H H H II are partitions between every other fire-place,carried only part way up to the top of the kiln. I I I are alternatepartitions between every other set of fireplaces, carried entirely up tothe top of the kiln.v K represents a course of hard-burned brickslaid-down on the' top of the kiln when set for a cover. L shows a secondcourse of hard-burned bricks laid above the iirst and breaking jointswith it.

In Fig. 3, M M show the chimneys. N N represent the -flues connectingthe chimneys with the mouths of the fire-places li B B2 B B* B5 B Bl, asin Fig; 2, and B li in Fig. 3.

O O show t-he'pipes for jets of steam, air, or water under pressure todischarge the watery smoke. I l) represent flexible tubes attachedto thepipes o o. It R are doorways.

The walls A of the kiln are built according to the best known methods ofbuilding such structures. They may inclose a 'larger or smaller space tohold the burning charge, to suit the amount ot' business to be done. Itis better, however, to make the kiln much longer than it is wide. It maybe a continuous' kiln,

or it may be built precisely like an old-fashioned brick-kiln. The onlydifference is that thelongerit is less fuel it takes to burn a givencharge.

In Fig. 3 the chimneys M M and the connecting-lines N N may be made ofboardslined with sheet meta-l, so as to be light to handle and move fromone fire-place to another. vThe heat-passing through them is notintended te be greater than that of common water-sn'ioke, or the vaporof water passing off from the drying-charge.

The chimneys may bev made about two feet square, inside measure, at thebottom, and eighteen inches square at the top, and twelve feet long,more or less. f The ilues N N` are some twelve inches square insidemeasure.

The mode of setting and burning the kiln is v as follows: Arches,composed of green bricks,

are turned over the grate-bars E E in Fig. 1in

the usual manner, as shown broken off. These arches .extend back tonearly the mid dle of F F; or they may'stop atthe end of the gratebars,as shown in Fig. 1. Both sides of the kiln are set in the same manner.Between the arches, partitions, composed of green bricksH I, are set up,as shown,at the same time the arches and kiln are set; These partitionsare made as tight as possible by putting down two courses latwisc,breaking joint-s, and then crossing them with a course resting on theirfaces. By setting these bricks, when green,

close together in this way, or inan equivalent manner, it makes thedividing-walls tolerably tight. 'Otherwise the kiln is set in the0rdinary manner andfcarried up to the usual height. rThe top is thensealed 'as tightly as possible by laying down two courses of hardburnedbricks' edgewise, and breaking joints, as shown in Fig. 2. To render thetop stiff tighter, each course, or only the topcourse, may be plasteredover with soft mud or plastic clay to iill up the joints. Vhcn the iirsttwo arches in Fig. 2, att-he left end of the kiln A, are set, the wallsI carried up to the top, and the cover put on ov'fer them, and thedoorway R lled upv with bricks and plastered over on the outside, andthe-wall H carried up part way toward the top, they are ready to beburned. ,4 The chimneys M M andl fines N N are nw adjusted to thefire-places B B, on the two opposite sides of the kiln, and next to theiirst high wall, I, as shown in Figs. l and 3. Fires are now built inthe iirst iireplace, B, on both sides of the kiln, as seeny in Fig. 2.A' jet of steam, air, or water, under pressure, is then let into thepipes o '0, in

Figs. l and 3, to produce apowerful artificial draft. The wall I beingpacked closely with green bricks, and, when necessary, plastered on theoutside'with soit clay, and the top be-l ing tight, and the iiues NN,.as in Fig. 3, being y fitted snugly in the fire-places, and the ash-vpit doorsO G, under the fire-.places in which the fluesN N are fitted,being shut tight, as

-shown in. Fig. 3, the heat will rise from the be converted into vapor,andA this vapor or` water-smoke will be drawn down,after ascending abo'Je the partition-wal1 H into the second arch, and thence into the fluesNN and.

hurled out oi' the two chimneys M M into the air. The office of the wallII is to prevent the draftin the second iire-place drawing theheatdirectly from By to B and into the chimneys MM. The natural tendency ofheat being to ascend unless eounteracted by a stronger side draft, itwill rise from the tire-places ,B B above'the wall I-I before it feelsthe draft sidewise,wh.ich causes it to descend, in the direction of thearrows, down through the compartvment between II and I and escape in theform of `steam or water-smoke, by the fines N N, from the chimneys M M.lt is obvious from this View that several things here unite to producethis result. The wall H compels the heat tol rise perpendicularly untilit pass/es over its top. The wall I cuts oft' the air on its right andmakes the compartment on its left, when covered above, an oven, by'whichmeans the draft in the ilues N' N, created by jets or steam, air, or,water under pressure, `introduced into the pipes o o, and escaping fromthem into the flues N N, and toward the chimdrawn sidewise from B'into Band out through- NN into M M. Vere it not for the cover K and Lon thiscompartment, the heat would escape into the air from the top. Were itnotfor the artificial draft,tl1e other conditions remaining, the watersmoke or-vapor of the wet lmy kiln.v

bricks would remain in the kiln, stop the fires, condenseinthe colderparts of the charge more remote from the res, and cause the bricks tosoften and mash together. This device enables me to remove thewater-smokein at least one-third of the time required by the old method.This is a great matter, for it takes more time and fuel to discharge thewater from theA wet bricks than it does tocomplete the burning.vl\Ieanti1nc, while this process is going on, Setters are at workwheeling or carting bricks through the doorway B, in the right end ofthekiln', as seen in Fig. 2, and setting the compartment over theiire-places B2 Bi", laying up the walls I-I and I, and putting on thetop K L,as before. Vhen thisis done, and the water-smoke ceases,ornearly so, to flow from the iirst compartment through the `chimneys MM, vthe rmovable chimneys and ilues N N are removed from B B to BJ B,the draft let on into the pipes 0 o, and'iires are now built in thenre-places B B2. The watersmoke now beginsto boil out of the chimneysfrom thewetbricks i n this second compartment. The tires in B B nowincreasing on both'sides of the wall I between them, begin to shrink it,and open cracks -in it, to allow the heat from the 'fires in B B to passthrough the` crevices in it, made by said shrinkage, into the secondeon'lpartment, andfaidin removing the water-smoke therefrom. This wall Ioperates as a cut-off or damper, which, when'the bricks are wet. ofwhich it is composed, and laid tight together, is shut,- and when thesame bricks are dry, and begin to bake, opens. It adjusts itself. Thecrevice's open wider and wider as the bricks composing the wall growhotter, and, ,as wider openings are requiredv to allow the 'redundantVheat to escape from' the hotter lpreceding compartment into thefollowing one next succeeding, consequently no dampers nor movablecutoffs are required in These walls, composed lof Igreen bricks, areset,burned, and discharged in the same manner and at the same time astherest of the kiln. When vthe watersmoke ceases 4to iiow from the chimneysinrB, they are then` removed and iitted to the fire-places BB.

Thcj et of steam, water, or air is again turned.

escaping .from the top, and no heat is allowed to-pass' into thechimneys above the temperature of the water-smoke, which is not far from212 Fahrenheit. This process involves great economy of fuel'. Then thewater-smoke is gone from B5 B5,'the chimneys M M are revmoved and adjustedtothe fire-placesll7 Byand .fires are built in B5 B, and finally inB when the watersmoke ceases to appear from that opening. Meantime theburned charges are being discharged 'from the door R at the .left end oft-he kiln A, as seen in Fig. 2, and others set to be burned, as before.The chin l neys may be made so light, either of boards or sheet metal,that two men eanlift them and remove andv adj ust them fromfire-placetofireplace in afew minutes. This renders such'an attachment cheap andeasily managed, and e11- ables me to use my invention in combinationwith all the old brick-kilns Ain the country..

The reason I employ hard`burned bricks to make the cover K L is becausesuch bricks do not shrink by the heat below them and open cracks for thesaid heat to escape into the air.

.. I have shown exible tubes P P in Fig. 3, at-

tached to the metal pipes o o for convenience in connecting the sourcesof the compressed steam, air, or water with the said pipes o o,

when the chimneys M M and the lues N N Yare removed from one fireplaceto another.

I find it advantageous to build the ash-pits D l) pretty deep to admitan abundant supply of air to the fires, and to keep the gratebars cool.

' Sometimes it vmay be cheaper to use water under pressure to cause thedraft from the flues N N than either steam or ai r, In most cities thewater-pipes are laid in the suburbs, where many brick-kilns are located.By tap ping into-the water-mains and attaching a -hose like I Iajetvofsnflicient power can be cheaply supplied. There there are no suchmains, and it is deemed best to use a jet of water for the said purpose,a small portable fire-'engine may be run round the kiln on Wheels toforce the necessary stream of water; Y

or, in somelocalitics, water can be had from certain elevations whichwill answer the desired purpose. It may escapefrom o'o in several smalljets, and thus increase the draft.

The water will thus fall into the chimneys AM vM and escape from theirbottoms into drains and run away. These jets of Water cool the productsdischarged from the kilns and proteet the flucs N N and chimneys M Mfrom too L great heat.

lVhen aj et of air is used to create a draftin the fines N N, it lmay beproduced by any of the known modes of producing an air-blast. lVhen Vajet of steamis used, -it may be made in a small portable boiler movedabout on wheels, or

in any other knownmethed. In reference to the use of 'a jet of steam tocreate the said draft, I wish to disclaim the manner in which it waspatented by Henry W. Adamsas set forth in his twopatents'dated,'respectively, July 2l, 1868, and July 20, 1869. In bothof these patents he shows a kiln pierced with pigeon-holes in the enddirectlyopposite to his lire-places; These pigeon-holes are eollectedfinally into one main and a jet ofsteam introduced into this main, so asto draw equally from all the pigeon-holes, and draw t-he heat.

fronrthe fires in the opposite end of the kiln f through all parts:alike to the remote end oc the charge. It is a special mechanical de`-vice to secure uniformity of draft, instead of drawing from his firestoward one open'- ing in the oppositeeud. rllris would have defeated hisobject, and made the heat travel through his kilns inthe form of a cone,point'- 'ing its tapering end towards the single outlet. I-lis device,therefore, for drawing thev water-smoke out o1" a brick-kiln by drawingit first through aseries of equidistant pigeonholes into one main andthen discharging it into the air, I disclaim. l draw out my watersmokcfrom the fire-place through a single opening, communicating directlywith the kiln, without any device whatever for producing anequally-'divided draft from the tires in a straight direct-ion towardsmany openings. My object is different from his. I wish to. get rid ot'my wate1.sn1oke only,-and not my heat. Therefore, after the water-smokeis gone, I stop 'the draft in that place and move'.v it on to a moredistant point, for the purpose of discl'larging'the water-smoke fromanother' compartment. I do not need this draft to urge the fires, for.as soon as the water-smoke is gone the natural draft, created bytherarefaction of the heated products of combustion, which renders themlighter than the weight'- of the cold air rushing into the ash-pits an(through the gratebars, and pushing them 'fo ward, is sufficient toadvance the heat as fast` as the best economy of fuel will justify. The

-chief use of my artificial draft is, therefore, to discharge theimmense quantity of watersmoke which is generated ina kiln of wetbricks, and which must be got rid of before theheat can .be raised hotenough to burn the charge. Neither do I claim a continuous kiln, or akiln compose( of compartments provided with iiues and dampers leading toa chimney, like the Hoffman kiln, and employing a removable orsheet-iron cut-off; but

1. The kiln A, when set and operated substantially in the manner and forthe purposes described.

2. The construction of the partition-wall H in the manner described, toprevent the heat 'of the lires in'the fire-places B Bin Figs. 2 and 3from passing by a direct side draft into the flues N N, and" for thepurposes set forth.

3. In a co\'ered`kiln, A, the construction of the partition-wall I, incombinationwith the draft-ihres N N, in the manner and for the ob jectsdescribed. v

4. The construction and useof the graduallyshrinking partition-wall I,in the manner and for the purposes hereinbeforeexplained.

5. The draft-iin es N N, in combination with' the fireplaces B B, inthemanner and forthe 'uses substantially as shown.;

6i The draitilu'cs N Ni"nicombi1zation with the chimneys M M, in theinode ,gud for the jobjects indicated.

i. The arrangement.and use of :theileX-ible and adjustable hose P l), ineon'ibination with i 4 9. `The use of a jet of compressed air toexha-nst the compartments of the kiln A of its water-smoke,substantially as explained.

l0. lThe use of 2t jet of compressed water to the blast pipes o o,substantially in the inanner and for the objects described.

8. The use of a jetof steam escaping from the blast -pipes o o into thefines N N toward discharge the waiter-smoke, substantially as thechimneys M M, for the pui-pose of drziwset forth. ing the Water-smokefrom a. kiln charged with brioks'or other articles composed of clay, di-'itnesses: reetly from one opening, Without the use o1- intervention ofpigeon-holes, as shown.

XVM. SAMUEL HALL.

v A.4H. ADAMs,

A. L. BERRY.

